By David Cohen

Copyright standard

Thirty young job seekers perch expectantly on the tiered seating, pens and notepads at the ready, eager to pick up tips from the assembled employers that could make the critical difference. They include school leavers and graduates, all hoping that this Get Hired event — run by The King’s Trust and hosted over two days by Octopus Energy — will be their breakthrough moment.

Among them, looking poised but “feeling nervous as anything”, sits Sesen, 24, who has completed a Level 3 course in accounting and is hoping for an entry-level role after being unemployed for 27 months and applying for more than 70 jobs.

Behind her is Jamie, 30, mother of a three-year-old and with a masters from Birkbeck, who has been job searching for five months. And alongside her there’s Evangelos, 28, who has applied for 85 jobs and hopes to use his performing arts degree to land a position in marketing.

The stakes are especially high because — with 30 candidates and 18 jobs up for grabs from eight employers — they have a 60 per cent chance of securing employment at a time when, on any other day, a single job opening may attract more than 100 applicants.

“In 70 job applications, I haven’t had a single interview but I am looking forward to the opportunities today brings,” says Sesen. “When I left home this morning, I told my two younger sisters, ‘When I return, I’m going to have a job’. Now that I’m here, I feel scared but also excited.”

Evangelos adds: “Earlier this year I did the King’s Trust digital marketing and AI course and today I feel ready to use what I learned and take my transferable skills in communication and get a real job.”

The event is the final push of our Destination Unknown campaign in partnership with The King’s Trust, which seeks to help unemployed young Londoners into work or business.

It comes as the total raised by our campaign smashed through £1 million thanks to a spate of last-minute donations, including £25,000 from sports fashion retailer, JD Group, and £25,000 each from two anonymous donors.

Previously, we had declared donations amounting to £950,000, including £500,000 from the Standard’s Dispossessed Fund, £100,000 from Deutsche Bank, £200,000 from an anonymous donor, and more than £150,000 from The London Community Foundation’s Youth Futures Fund. Around half of the total raised has been pledged to six grassroots charities tackling youth unemployment and the other half to fund King’s Trust programmes in London.

Ant and Dec, whose Making it in Media programme with The King’s Trust has supported hundreds of young people since it began in 2021, understand how important The King’s Trust programmes and Get Hired events are.

Ant said: “Over the many years we’ve supported The King’s Trust, we’ve seen first-hand the positive impact of the charity. Through our own Making it in Media programme, we have been able to meet young people at the start of their journey and have witnessed how the right support can boost self-confidence and the skills needed for work.”

Dec said: “We’re thrilled that our programme has now supported hundreds of young people, with many going on to jobs and further training in the industry.

“The Destination Unknown campaign promises to expand the charity’s support to even more young people — and marks another meaningful step in their mission to end youth unemployment. Today’s generation of young people need support now more than ever.”

A Making it in Media Get Hired event will be running in London this month, with support from media industry employers such as ITV, ITN, Mama Youth and Ant and Dec’s production company, Mitre Studios.

It will follow this cross-sector Get Hired event, which is the fourth the Trust has run in London this year and the biggest since Covid. Participating employers include Octopus Energy, Railsafe Group, Horizon Community Care, Eco Approach, New Adventures and a top city investment bank.

The event begins with an employer panel discussion hosted by Jonathan Townsend, chief executive of The King’s Trust, followed by employer briefings setting out the roles on offer, “job squad” career workshops to impart interview tips — and finally, the interviews themselves.

Olivia Brown, global head of talent acquisition for Octopus Energy, says her first job — marketing door handles and hinges, which she hated — taught her to “apply for jobs you’re passionate about”. She says employers often prefer to hire junior and mid-level talent “because they are less set in their ways and can be moulded”, and she encourages people to “bring their passion and individuality” and apply “even if they don’t tick every box”.

Jamie reflects afterwards: “It’s great advice to back yourself, but it can be hard to maintain confidence when you face rejection after rejection. I feel desperate sometimes. I cry quite a lot.” She adds: “AI has changed the game because while you are advised to be individual, you also face trying to get selected by a computer — by an algorithm.”

But as the event unfolds and the job seekers engage with employers, hearing how they were once unemployed “just like them”, confidence grows. They sign up to interview for jobs on offer — which include roles in finance, marketing, administration and back-stage theatre. One by one, they disappear into the interview booths.

So how did they do? At the time of going to press, all the young people I interviewed have progressed to the next stage, typically meaning second interviews. Sesen, Jamie and Evangelos are all in the running for the 10 customer service roles offered by Octopus Energy and of the half a dozen other young people I speak to, all have secured second interviews too — some with several employers.

“It’s win-win,” says Townsend. “These young people, many from underserved communities, will bring a freshness and diversity to these employers and will be great assets.

“For the young people, even if they don’t succeed today, we will continue to support them until they find work. Yes, it’s a big moment to go from destination unknown to destination unlimited, but they should remember, it’s not the only moment.”

Visit kingstrust.org.uk/destination-unknown for more information or to donate. For corporates who want to offer jobs or partner with The Trust, email: [email protected]

The King’s Trust has contributed £80,000 to help the Standard cover the costs of this appeal. This funding has been used to raise awareness of the Trust’s charitable work, helping it to transform young lives. The King’s Trust is a registered charity incorporated by Royal Charter in England and Wales (1079675) and Scotland (SC041198)